“I have become better at writing than living–and think what you do to my writing.” -Juliet to her publisher, Sidney.
The Guernsey and Potato Peel Pie by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Published by Dial Press
Genre: historical fiction, drama, romance
Pages: 274
Synopsis
The story starts off in January of 1946. World War II has just come to an end. And our protagonist, Juliet Aston, has just release her novel Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War. She receives a letter from someone who finds one of her books and they inquire about Charles Lamb. From that correspondence, she discovers The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Review
The format of the story is unique (to me at least). The book is separated into two parts: London and Guernsey. Both parts are written in the form of letters. At first I thought only the very beginning of chapters where in the form of letters. Then I thought that maybe only the first part was in letters and the second part wasn’t. But no, the whole story takes place in the form of letters.
As far as the actually story: predictable. It’s kind of a typical romance where you’ll know who’s going to win the heart and who will lose. It’s neither good nor bad thing, just an observation.
I would have to say that out of all the characters, Elizabeth is my favorite for being brave and caring. Technically we don’t actually get to meet her. But through her stories, we get to know her well and I find her the most appealing. Several of the characters are exaggerated, especially the American (I’m triggered).
The Best
- The predictable story (it’s just the same as the Asian dramas)
- I like the part in the story that briefly broke away from the letter format as Isola’s note-taking/observation book. It was fun to read (and it is probably something I would have made if I was younger).
- Learning about Guernsey and the German Occupation. Whenever we learned about WWII in history class, it is always remembered as a blur (too much information and not enough connection to it).
The Worst
- The letters. I liked the letters, but I didn’t like it as the whole story. I guess I discovered through this book that I prefer narration style writing (or maybe I’m just used to it).
- Because of the letter format, I felt that the author had to over explain/describe things in the letters. When in reality, I doubt anyone would write so much detail.
Quotes
“I much prefer whining to counting my blessings.”-Juliet
“Humor is the best way to make the unbearable.”
“You can purchase my silence with torrid details.”-Susan (I really want to use this phrase one day.)
“It is so small a thing to have enjoyed the sun, to have lived the light in the spring, to have loved, to have thought, to have done, to have advanced true friends.”-Elizabeth
Afterthoughts
The reason I decided to read this book is because I saw the trailer for the series that is coming to Netflix. After reading, I feel like this fits in perfectly well with my love for historical fiction. I feel like this is one of the best ways to learn about history.
The authors of the this book are aunt and niece. Annie Barrows is one of my daughter’s favorite. She writes Ivy and Bean stories (which I enjoy because they are hilarious).
Recommendations
The only historical fiction (but actually a true story) that I wrote about so far on this blog is A White Rose, which is set in Cuba and was the incident that started the Spanish-American War.
I often read historical fiction, but as far as WWII goes, the only other book I have read is Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls. I like it because it shows the Chinese perspective of WWII. There’s also Memoirs of a Geisha, which is I read and is also set WWII, but not too much about the actual war.
Book-to-Life Connection
Attend a Book Club
Books
Culture
Snap Card Game
Rumba
Coronet Braid
Letter writing
Do you have a favorite WWII book?
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